City news in 250 words: Thursday 2 June

HEATON HALL and Wythenshawe Hall are to close for the rest of the year but will not be sold off as the MEN indicated yesterday. Cllr Mike Amesbury told Confidential, “There’s not a grain of truth about us selling the properties off.” The cuts imposed on councils from central government mean the Halls will close all year although maintenance will be carried out. See Sleuth, click here. 

SALT will be stored in a vast salt barn so that our roads remain clear in 
winter. The warehouse will be in Carrington and will house 4,500 tonnes of salt - a third of this amount will be a strategic reserve. It’s all very local as well as most of the salt will come from Winsford Rock Salt Mine, in Cheshire, twenty miles south. 

A MAN has admitted using patient details gained from former nurse whose daughter was recently killed in Greater Manchester. Personal injury claims worker Martin Campbell, 31, obtained data relating to some patients being treated at Bury walk-in centres. The details were given to him by his then girlfriend Dawn Makin, who was found unconscious beside the body of her daughter Chloe, four, in February. Campbell, of Bury, was fined £1,050.

QATAR Airways, FIFA’s favourite airline (ho, ho) is stepping up capacity on the Manchester – Doha route with the addition of a second daily flight this week. The move comes as Qatar Airways continues to add routes and increase frequency across its global network, as part of its aggressive expansion strategy.

Fact of the day: In this week in 1742 Ann Lee was baptised at Manchester Cathedral. She was leader of the Shaking Quakers, whose worship involved ecstatic shaking. Shaker furniture is renowned the world over for its simplicity.

For more Manchester facts follow @Revealmcr